4 Dillon 650's + Reloading Bench Valhalla part Deux

[Just Duke]

I got em all bolted down.:-D


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd255/EBRSOPMODS/DILLONBENCH.jpg

[jdhenry]

Show off!!!!!!:) I wish my wife could understand that I need 4 of those. And my wallet....

NICE set up!!!!! Makes my 3 LEE pro 1000's look like ..............Well you know:)

[45nut]

Wha? No boolit trays or roller handles?

[Just Duke]

Wha? No boolit trays or roller handles?

I am working on the bullet trays. Not sure about the roller handles are they necessary? Anybody like them

[45nut]

I would rather load with a brick and a 2x4 then without the roller handle on my 550. :)

[bullshot]

For all us old guys, the std dillon handle knob is the same as the gearshift knob on the muscle cars back in the day. No problem. lol

[Cherokee]

Duke - The standard handle works fine for this 67 year old hand, although I've been thinking about the roller part. 4 650's is a big investment - what ya loading with them ?

[madcaster]

Easy fellas,Duke has them bolted down as a way of saying "They're NOT for sale!"

[Just Duke]

- what ya loading with them ?

500 S&W
460 S&W
223
308
45 ACP
45 Long Colt
45-70
40 S&W
I single stage for the 338 Ultra Mag & 338 Lapua

[badgeredd]

Duke, I have a question. Obviously you have spent a few bucks on your set-up and it is awesome. Why did you opt for 650s over 550s? I'm getting close enough to retirement that I can see the light (still a little dim) at the end and I REALLY want a progressive, preferably a Dillon. With the variety of cartridges I need to load the 550 would likely be fine but the 650 is not that much more so I am trying to decide which one and why. As far as the amount of loading I do at once, well I rarely load more than 100 at a time except for semi-auto pistol ammo. I'd appreciate your answer and anybody elses opinion will be taken seriously too.

Some of the shells I load are 22 Supper Jet, 218 Mashburn Bee, 223, 6MM TCU, 6MM Rem, 25-06, 7 X 57, 7X57 AI, 280, 30-30. 32 Special, 7.62 X 39, 7.62X54, 308, 30-06, 7.65 Argentine, 356 Win, 35 Whelen, 358 Noma Mag, 375 Win, 40-65, 8X57, 45-70 and 45-60. Also several handgun cartridges and a few other rifle cartridges on occasion. I guess you probably see why I decided to get into shooting cast boolits too! Anyway I would like to hear some opinions on the 550 vs 650 and reasons for the opinions. Thanks all.

[Just Duke]

Duke, I have a question. Obviously you have spent a few bucks on your set-up and it is awesome. Why did you opt for 650s over 550s? I'm getting close enough to retirement that I can see the light (still a little dim) at the end and I REALLY want a progressive, preferably a Dillon. With the variety of cartridges I need to load the 550 would likely be fine but the 650 is not that much more so I am trying to decide which one and why. As far as the amount of loading I do at once, well I rarely load more than 100 at a time except for semi-auto pistol ammo. I'd appreciate your answer and anybody elses opinion will be taken seriously too.

Some of the shells I load are 22 Supper Jet, 218 Mashburn Bee, 223, 6MM TCU, 6MM Rem, 25-06, 7 X 57, 7X57 AI, 280, 30-30. 32 Special, 7.62 X 39, 7.62X54, 308, 30-06, 7.65 Argentine, 356 Win, 35 Whelen, 358 Noma Mag, 375 Win, 40-65, 8X57, 45-70 and 45-60. Also several handgun cartridges and a few other rifle cartridges on occasion. I guess you probably see why I decided to get into shooting cast boolits too! Anyway I would like to hear some opinions on the 550 vs 650 and reasons for the opinions. Thanks all.



Here is 10,000 reasons just for a start. This is 1/10th of what I need to reload. I had the 550 for 10 to 15 or so years and it was great. I wanted the automatic index the whole time I had the 550. If you have the means buy several 550's you won't be sorry with either.:-D

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd255/EBRSOPMODS/10000HORNADYBULLETS.jpg

[45nut]

FLGC PORN ALERT


http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd255/EBRSOPMODS/10000HORNADYBULLETS.jpg

[Just Duke]

WOW! Just got a response here and now it is gone. Huh! 45 Nut where did you go sir? :-D

[45nut]

Coveting FLGC's was disrespectful LOL

[hotwheelz]

Duke, I have a question. Obviously you have spent a few bucks on your set-up and it is awesome. Why did you opt for 650s over 550s? I'm getting close enough to retirement that I can see the light (still a little dim) at the end and I REALLY want a progressive, preferably a Dillon. With the variety of cartridges I need to load the 550 would likely be fine but the 650 is not that much more so I am trying to decide which one and why. As far as the amount of loading I do at once, well I rarely load more than 100 at a time except for semi-auto pistol ammo. I'd appreciate your answer and anybody elses opinion will be taken seriously too.

Some of the shells I load are 22 Supper Jet, 218 Mashburn Bee, 223, 6MM TCU, 6MM Rem, 25-06, 7 X 57, 7X57 AI, 280, 30-30. 32 Special, 7.62 X 39, 7.62X54, 308, 30-06, 7.65 Argentine, 356 Win, 35 Whelen, 358 Noma Mag, 375 Win, 40-65, 8X57, 45-70 and 45-60. Also several handgun cartridges and a few other rifle cartridges on occasion. I guess you probably see why I decided to get into shooting cast boolits too! Anyway I would like to hear some opinions on the 550 vs 650 and reasons for the opinions. Thanks all.

The 650 is nice b/c of the auto index and powder check station makes alot of ammo quick changing the primer from large to small if you dont buy a whole priming system for each is a pain. The 550 is easy to change primer system 2 screws change primer arm and primer tube fast and easy can easily back up if need be, I have both a 550 and 650 but if I had just 1 it would stay with my 550.
I would think a 550 would be your best bet if its only a 100 at a time stay with the single stage set up for your rifle and get your pistol rounds out on a dillon 550for all those calibers you listed it would be very $$$$ to get all those caliber conversions for the 550 or 650. JMTC

[garandsrus]

I have both a 550 and 650 and would go with the 550 if I could only have one... The auto indexing on the 650 is OK but not too big a deal. The case feeder is a nice to have but not a must have.

Where I do like the 650 with a casefeeder is when resizing rifle brass. All I need to do is pull the handle. I can size 500+ cases/hour.

As was mentioned, the conversion kits for the 650 are quite a bit more than the 550's.

John

[rockrat]

Can't say I blame him on getting4--650's. I hated changing primer feeds , so I bought a second 650, one for small primers and one for large primers. If I wanted to spend the $$ and had room, it would be the way to go.

[Just Duke]

There you are 45 Nut. Yep! Those are Full Lenth Gas Checked Bullets.:-D

[badgeredd]

Here is 10,000 reasons just for a start. This is 1/10th of what I need to reload. I had the 550 for 10 to 15 or so years and it was great. I wanted the automatic index the whole time I had the 550. If you have the means buy several 550's you won't be sorry with either.:-D

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd255/EBRSOPMODS/10000HORNADYBULLETS.jpg

Thanks Duke and everyone else. I believe you have convinced me to stick to my original choice. BTW Duke I've used a Rock Chucker for 10 years and a Big Max for the last 20 so with what you said I think I can survive just fine with the 550. I can see the advantages to the auto indexing but I really doubt I'd benefit that much from it, which you obviously will. THANKS ALL !!!!!!!!!!!

[Southern Son]

Badgered,
I have a 550. Almost exclusively used for .38spl. I have loaded .45ACP, 7mmTCU, 30/30, 308, 243, .44mag and a few more I can't think of at the moment (the town where I was living when I first started Pistol shooting had lots of access to shooting foxes, goats, rabbits, feral cats and dogs, and the pistol club had IPSC, NRA, Metalic Shilouette, the whole lot, so I needed a press that would do them all, fast). Since the leaving that town, some guns were sold because I no longer could hunt nearly as much and there was no metalic shilouette, so that reloading stopped, then the government decided that I could not be trusted with my .45ACP and they took it away, leaving me with 38/357 being the only bulk reloading I do. The 550 was fine, although taking my right hand off the lever to put a shell on the plate was a pain. I recently bought a case feeder for the 550 and I believe that with the case feeder this is the best press for bulk reloading I could possibly have bought. The 650 does have auto index, but that is no big deal when you consider the fact that you have to put a projectile in place after the case has been filled with powder, while your fingers are there, flip the shell plate around one. Not only has the case feeder made the 550 faster, but IMHO it has made the 550 safer. Before the case feeder, double charging a case was quite possible if you were distracted or had a brain fart, this never happened to me (the double charging has never happened to me, I am having brain farts all the time), but the thought that it could was always there in the back of my mind. With the case feeder, if you fail to index the shell plate, the case feeder will try to put a case into the shell plate, however, with the previous case still there, the new case will stop, next to the primed/sized case and when both try to enter the sizing die together, everything will stop, suddenly. It will probably ruin the new case, but the case under the powder thrower will not enter the powder thrower die, and therfore not get charged a second time, the sized and primed case will also be undamaged. Basically, the price of saving you from you gun potentially exploding, is one unprimed, unsized fired case. Not a bad deal, really. Sorry for the long post.

[badgeredd]

SouthernSon,
Thanks for the post. You have also confirmed what I feel is likely the best choice for me. I certainly appreciate everyone's input and the fact that everyone has given reasons for their individual choices helps me to be able to make an informed choice which is exactly what I was after. Your post mentioned something I hadn't really thought about before, the case feeder. Good thoughts. Thanks again.

[TexRebel]

I Started with the Rock chucker, then got a Dillon square deal, now run a Dillon 650, I love it :-D http://www.texrebel.com/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=8&***=8

[Just Duke]

I Started with the Rock chucker, then got a Dillon square deal, now run a Dillon 650, I love it :-D http://www.texrebel.com/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=8&***=8

That's a nice setup Tex.


I just received the Large Media Separator, 3 Caliber conversions with powder measurers, 45-70 Cowboy dies and a b-jillion primers. RCBS Lube Sizer and a couple of 8 powders of powder.

[badgeredd]

That's a nice setup Tex.


I just received the Large Media Separator, 3 Caliber conversions with powder measurers,

Speaking of caliber conversions, another question! why is there a different caliber conversion for very similar cartridges? Like in my cade I load 221 Fireball, 6MM TCU, and 223 Remington, seems like they'd be all the same but I have no idea since I haven't gotten my Dillon yet.

[Just Duke]

Speaking of caliber conversions, another question! why is there a different caliber conversion for very similar cartridges? Like in my cade I load 221 Fireball, 6MM TCU, and 223 Remington, seems like they'd be all the same but I have no idea since I haven't gotten my Dillon yet.

Dillon has a common caliber conversion in their instruction manual.

[Dale53]

Dillon has never tried to "oversell" me. It IS important for you to have the calibers listed that you already have to facilitate them giving you proper assistance in getting exactly what you NEED and nothing that you do NOT!

Several calibers have common shell plates and buttons (.45 ACP, .308 Win, 30'06, etc). Others that you would never think of are the same (.222 family, and .380 ACP). Dillon personnel have always told me correctly exactly WHAT I need without overspending on common parts.

Dale53

[TexRebel]

Dillon has never tried to "oversell" me. It IS important for you to have the calibers listed that you already have to facilitate them giving you proper assistance in getting exactly what you NEED and nothing that you do NOT!

Several calibers have common shell plates and buttons (.45 ACP, .308 Win, 30'06, etc). Others that you would never think of are the same (.222 family, and .380 ACP). Dillon personnel have always told me correctly exactly WHAT I need without overspending on common parts.

Dale53

Same here, I highlight each part I have on the conversion chart, that way I do not need to buy some things to convert over to a new caliber

[38 Super Auto]

I am working on the bullet trays. Not sure about the roller handles are they necessary? Anybody like them

I don't think the bullet tray would help me much, but the roller handle is essential equipment.

[ddeaton]

I am using a new 650 for my 45acp with a roller handle and love it. I am glad I bought it.

[Springfield]

I like the bullet tray but didn't like the roller handle on my 550, took it off and sold it.

[garandsrus]

I have mentioned this before, but it's a nice piece of free software...

Dillon XL650 Caliber Conversion Utility (http://www.nfatoys.com/dillon/)

You tell it what you have and then choose another caliber and it will tell you what you have that will work with the new caliber and what you still need.

John

[Just Duke]

I have mentioned this before, but it's a nice piece of free software...

Dillon XL650 Caliber Conversion Utility (http://www.nfatoys.com/dillon/)

You tell it what you have and then choose another caliber and it will tell you what you have that will work with the new caliber and what you still need.

John

Clever. Thanks for sharing Garandsrus.:-D

[686]

I Changed Over To The Roller Handle And Love It. I Think They Shoyld Put It On The 550 To Start With. I Have The Metal One.

[skeeter45]

I have the bullet tray and alum roller handle on my 550 and think its the best thing since sliced bread. Loads a lot faster and comfortable than before. The empty brass tray on the front is also a great idea.